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Osun Election: PDP Granted Leave To Inspect Election Material

The reconstituted Osun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal has ordered the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ademola Adeleke, to serve his petition and other court processes on the respondents by pasting it on the notice board of the tribunal and also to inspect election materials used for the September 22 gubernatorial election and the rerun election of September 27 .

PDP had dragged the ruling All Progressives Congress APC and its candidate at the election , Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola to the tribunal over their declaration as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC .

The petitioners’ counsel prayed for “an order of this honourable tribunal granting leave to the petitioner/applicants to serve the petition, court orders, hearing notices and all other processes already filed and to be filed in this case on the second and third respondents through substituted means by pasting the said petition, court orders and hearing notices and all other processes already filed and to be filed in this case on the notice board of this honourable tribunal.”

The petitioners also sought the court’s permission for their forensic experts and statisticians to scan and obtain certified true copies of election materials.

The tribunal, in a ruling read by Justice Peter Obiora, granted the prayers.

The court ordered that the petitioners shall pay the requisite statutory fees and that the inspection and examination of the documents shall not be done by the petitioners in the absence of the respondents.

The tribunal added that the respondents shall each send two persons to be present and observe the inspection and examination of the documents.

The two applications premised on the order of the court to serve the petitions and other processes on the second and third respondents respectively on substituted means and to also move the application before the pre -hearing session .

Justice Peter Obiora, who delivered the ruling on behalf of the Tribunal Chairman , Justice Muhammad Siraju , said the tribunal was satisfied with the report of services , maintaining that there was merit in the application.

Obiora said the essence of granting the applications was to bring proceedings to the attention and notices of the respondents in the substantive suit before the tribunal .

Speaking on the mode of operation of the tribunal , Obiora said the tribunal would do justice in its proceedings without any form of bias .

A 12 – paragraph affidavit and a written address in support with the affidavit was attached with the ex -parte motion brought by the Applicant Counsel.

The Applicant lead Counsel , Mr Nathaniel Oke (SAN), told newsmen after the sitting that the two applications was to allow them serve the second respondent (Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola ) and third respondents (APC ) which had not been successfully served .

Oke said “ The second application was to sort the leave of the tribunal for the purpose of taking certified true copies of the materials used for the election in Sept . 22 and the rerun of Sept . 27 which would be useful as the tribunal continue sitting .

“ The Court granted the two applications but with a rider to allow two observers from the other respondents to serve as mere watchers or lookers when inspecting the election materials ,” he said .